


Glam it Up With Taako

by kishleylam



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Also Regular Spoilers, Angst, Character Study, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mild Spoilers, Sweet, Thematic Spoilers, and also painting nails, in the wake of wonderland through story and song, mild survivor's guilt, my sweet boys dealing with complex emotions, taagnus if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 04:40:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishleylam/pseuds/kishleylam
Summary: After the day of Story and Song, Magnus and Taako are supposed picking up some last things from the moon base. They're not very good at staying on task, but they do get their nails done, so that's something.I couldn't get the image of Taako painting Magnus's nails out of my head after finding out that Travis paints his nails, and this is the result. It's a bit angstier than I thought it would be, but it seems fitting for everything that my poor sweet boys have been through.Alternate Title: "Arcane Cosmetics are Great, but Not for Nail Polish. Spell Slots, Dude."





	Glam it Up With Taako

Magnus sat wearily on the couch of his party’s private suite on the moon. He didn’t know what was to become of the Bureau of Balance, but he knew one thing for sure: he wasn’t likely to be a part of whatever endeavors lay in store for Lucretia’s organization. Frankly, adventuring didn’t hold the same appeal it once did. He may have once again gained a young body, but he still carried the weight of every year lost to Wonderland and to the stolen century. No, this was likely to be his last time on the moon base, and it was just so that he could pick up the things he wanted to take with him into his new life. This was probably for the best. Dogs weren’t allowed on the moon, and whatever the future held for him, Istus willing, he wanted to have so many dogs. He’d earned that much, he thought. He moved the rug covering the glass area of the floor and, for the first time, admired the truly wonderful view they’d had here. A pang hit him. They should never have covered this up, but it was too late to do anything about that now.  
“Well, look who it is.” Taako’s wiry frame appeared in the doorway. “How goes packing, my dude?”  
“Oh. Uh, great.” Magnus hadn’t started packing yet.  
“Looks like it.” Taako sauntered over, leaning against the back of the sofa. “Uncovered the gateway to hell, huh? Doesn’t that freak you out?”  
Magnus looked at him, too tired to be anything but serious. “Do you really fear death, after everything?”  
“Nah, he’s kind of a pushover.” Taako smirked. “Plus, he’s fine as hell. I really don’t mind seeing him. Although, I definitely have non-lethal ways of getting a hold of him. No gateway to hell required. Just my…” He frowned as his hands closed around empty space where his Stone of Farspeech used to hang. “Well, I guess I need to get a new Stone of Farspeech, but once I get that, we’re copacetic.”  
Magnus went back to staring blankly through the floor. “I’m sure Kravitz is going to be busy for the next little while, anyway.”  
Taako regarded him seriously, then walked off to his room. He reappeared a minute later with a small bag.  
“Pick a color,” he said, sitting on his knees in front of Magnus.  
“Uh...what?”  
“Pick a color,” Taako repeated, more insistently this time.  
“Um, black, I guess?”  
Taako began rooting through the bag. “Solid choice. Bold. Classy.”   
Magnus paused for a moment with his mouth open. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but...what are you planning?”  
In response, Taako pulls out a bottle of black nail polish. “Give me your hand.”  
“You want to paint my nails?” Despite his verbal reluctance, he does as he’s told.   
“It would certainly seem that way, wouldn’t it?” He shook the bottle.  
“Why do you even have nail polish? I thought you were more into arcane cosmetics.’  
Taako grinned. “Oh yeah, amigo, they’re just dandy. There’s something about the process of painting nails though, it’s really therapeutic.” He paused, unscrewing the bottle’s lid. “Plus, like, spell slots.”  
Magnus let out a snort. Then, Taako began carefully coating his nails in black paint. With precise flicks of his fingertips, he made the brush glide over Magnus’s fingernails, making a smooth layer of paint that quickly began to dry with a glossy sheen. As he watched Taako work, he found it was so easy to just forget everything else for a while, lose himself in the deliberate brushstrokes. Within minutes, his fingernails were coated in metallic black paint, which Taako quickly dried using magical means. He wasn’t sure if Taako had to use a spell slot to dry them instantly. He didn’t ask.   
“Thank you, Taako.” Magnus admired his handiwork. “They’re beautiful.”  
Taako began screwing the polish shut once more. “No problem, my dude. LIterally hit me up anytime, I always love helping up people’s game. Little known fact: before Sizzle It Up With Taako, I briefly considered touring with Glam It Up With Taako.”  
Magnus laughed. “Bullshit.”  
“You got me there.” Taako chuckled a bit too, but it had less humor in it. It had hit him that Sizzle It Up was never his idea to begin with. It was Lucretia’s. Just a fabrication to cover their stolen century.  
Magnus noticed Taako’s mood turn a bit somber, and reached out for the nail polish.  
“Hey, you were right. That was pretty therapeutic. Can I return the favor?” Unfortunately, no sooner were the words out of his mouth than he realized that Taako already had his nails done. French Tip, it looked like, but with glittery gold tips and white nails.  
“Yeah, sure. Thanks for the offer.”  
“You don’t have to let me, I just realized your nails are already done really well. There’s no way I can match that. I--I, uh, I’ve never actually painted anyone’s nails before.”  
“No sweat, compadre.” Taako rolled both wrists with a snap, and suddenly his nails were clean. With a wink, he teased, “I’m happy to be your first.”  
Magnus just shook his head and took the bottle, biting back laughter and doing a terrible job at it. He tried to emulate the movements and technique he’d seen Taako implement, but he did a somewhat shoddy job at it, truth be told. As he worked, he discovered painting nails was even more therapeutic than having his nails painted. By the time he was done, he still felt tired, but it didn’t quite extend all the way into his soul, and felt a bit more like something that could be fixed with a nap. A long, long nap. And maybe a few good cries.  
Altogether, he didn’t do too badly for his first time. The paint was noticeably uneven, clumpy in places, and too thin in others. But looking at them, Magnus felt something akin to what he felt upon carving his first wooden duck. However, the longer Taako spent staring at them, the more sure he was that his pride was misplaced.  
“I won’t take it personally if you want to re-do them,” Magnus said, reaching towards Taako’s hands.  
Taako jerked his hands back. “No. I love them.” He held his hands up to show them off, giving Magnus a smile that was almost...sincere? “We match! Seriously. Dos of the Tres Horny Boys just took things to the next level.”  
Magnus smiled and gave him a high five. “Now we just have to get Merle in on this.”  
“That can be arranged.” Taako grinned mischievously, then leaned his back against the couch, looking through the glass floor to the world below. They would have to return all too soon. In so many ways, the world was the same, but it was also so different. They were so different. They would have to find their new, separate, places in this strange new world soon enough. But right now they were just good friends together on the moon.  
“We should probably start packing soon,” Magnus said absently.  
“Yeah.”  
They didn’t start packing for quite a while.


End file.
